Toby Savoy: Arrival
Outside the window of what Toby might recognise as a Chevrolet, the Washington State countryside slips by. The youngster has been bound, while the man who kidnapped him off the street - who has only given "Alec" as his name - is driving. His concentration is on the road outside, but his eyes flick regularly to the repositioned rearview mirror to check on Toby. Toby sits quietly, shifting every so often to keep the blood going in his extremities. After a while, he catches the man's gaze. "Where...uh...how much longer till you let me go?" The last few hours, or was it days, have been a nightmarish blur. The cuts on his hands and feet still sting and throb but the drugs affecting him have passed. "Couple of hours," Alec says. "Just taking you to some people who can look after you better." His eyes flick up at the mirror. "Good people. Won't hurt you, much." He flicks the radio on to some AOR medium-wave station. Apparently, Journey require you to not stop believing. Toby looks out the window at the countryside whipping by, "That's...good of you to do, but I can, you know, take care of myself just fine. You could drop me off here and I'm sure I could call a cab." A quick test of the ropes during the next shift proves them to be competently tied, no getting loose unnoticed, at least not easily. "Nah," Alec says. "That's a lie. You'd run." He shakes his head, visible in the mirror. "Do you know what happens if you run?" he asks, while the radio insists that you haven't seen anything yet. Toby blinks, lots of people had used a line like that with him before. Case workers, counselors, foster parents...they'd all asked if he realized what would happen if he ran away. There were horror stories of drugs, murder, prostitution, abuse, life on the street, but that was told in a distant way. The way you chide a naughty child and tell them if they run towards the street you might get hit by a car. This was, different though, "...what happens if I run?" Toby found himself asking. Alec sniffs. "Well, if you're lucky, someone chases you down and kills you. Which they would do, without a second thought. If you're unlucky, you lose control a few more times, murder some random innocents, and then they chase you down and kill you." Toby looks back out the window, "Yeah...I don't do drugs normally, I got hit." "It wasn't the drugs," Alec says, turning off the interstate onto a smaller road. The signs that have gone past suggest that they're some way to the east of the city of St. Claire. "Look. Can I trust you to walk up a driveway and knock on a door? And repeat a message? Bearing in mind that I'll be watching you?" Toby laughs glumly, "Man, that's how I make my living, though normally it'd cost you two hundred bucks." He looks up at the face in the mirror with a show of bravado, "Yeah, I'm not going to try and run away while you've got a clean shot." "Good," Alec says. "Right. Here's the message. "I am Silver Fang cub who has just undergone first change." And you can tell them my name, which is "Alec Goes-Where-No-one-Dares". And that I'm a Silent Strider." He pauses. "You got that?" Toby tilts his head to the side, a wash of curiosity going over his face. "I am a Silver Fang cub who has just undergone first change, your name is Alec Goes-Where-No-One-Dares and you are a Silent Strider." he repeats. "What's that mean?" he asks "They'll tell you," Alec says. The road they're travelling along is lightly wooded, now, having passed from farmland into it. He turns off the road and onto a track-like driveway. "We're here. Remember that they won't mean you any harm." Edgewood House: Meadow A long, hard-packed dirt road winds almost a mile through the forest off Sunrise Road, eventually opening out into a small front yard, and coming to a stop in front of a large house, which may be the very definition of ramshackle. The house is not visible from the road, nor can one hear anything but perhaps a gunshot. Its foundation and general structure are solid, but its once crisp grey-and-white paint needs updating, and some of the trim is having trouble staying attached. A fixer upper, one might say. Off to the left, there's a former garage, long since converted into something of an in-law apartment. A connecting flyover attaches it to the second floor of the house. There are no fences surrounding either the front or back yards. In the rear of the property, the yard (larger than in the front) eventually comes up against a well built garden, with the very beginnings of sprouts. Shaded and obscured by surrounding trees, there is a small (but deep) natural pond, with a chuckling brook leading out of it, into the woods. There's a rope swing hanging from one of the trees. The yard to the southeast of the property stretches on for a time, and then is eaten by woods, into which there may or may not be a path; it apparently fades away quickly. There's a certain looming feel to these woods. This mostly sunny afternoon, the peace and quiet of Edgewood Meadow is disturbed by the arrival of a Chevrelot. It doesn't come all the way to the house, just stops in view of the building, but a fair way off. A man climbs out, opens the back door and reaches in. After a moment, it's clear that what he's doing is untying the legs - but not the arms - of a boy, tall for his years, who he plucks out of the back seat and sets him onto his feet. "Now, go do it, and remember I'm watching," he says, giving the boy a push towards the house. Toby looks over at the woodlands and in a voice too low to be heard by most humans mutters, "Great, I'm gonna die in the sticks." He glances back down the mile of dirt road behind him, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Journey long ago stopped preaching belief on the radio and now the mechanical DJ queues up REM, as the radio repetitively sings that the world as he knows it is ending Toby works his way out of the car and gets shoved towards the house, he stumble steps as pins and needles settle into his legs then straightens up with somewhat obvious effort and begins to walk towards the house as if there was nothing wrong in the world. A casual stroll being an absolute requirement for his previous line of work, he winces as he moves to hook his thumbs into his pants pockets, the cuts on his palms stinging, and he limps a bit as he favors one foot but his face remains fixed into a casual smile as he approaches the front door. Seated upon the porch of Edgewood House, Nikiya has her walking stick leaned up against her shoulder as she smokes a cigarette. She seems to be very much enjoying the process, and at her side is a bottle of clear liquid, probably vodka. The arrival of the vehicle prompts a raised eyebrow from the Fury, who watches silently as Toby is pulled from the Chevy. Instinctively, she raises to her feet, watching the boy's approach, one eyebrow raised. As the boy approaches, she does her best to loom at the taller boy, a suspicious look on her face. "What?" The man slides back into the car and, as soon as Toby reaches the house, slams it into reverse, exiting the area quickly, his wheels throwing mud into the air as he goes. Toby shifts his weight to his good foot, his eyes look up as he repeats something by rote, "I am a Silver Fang cub who has just undergone first change..." he indicates Alec with a tilt of his head, "His name is Alec Goes-Where-No-One-Dares and he is a Silent..." he trails off as the car starts chucking mud around, "...Strider." Toby watches as the car speeds away, "He said you were good folk. Maybe you could let me get cleaned up here and use the phone to call a cab." Peering suspiciously over the boy's shoulder at the man as he departs, Nikiya arches a brow and looks back to Toby. Then, she nods quietly. She dips down, putting out her cigarette and pocketing the butt. Then, she points to the porch, right in front of the door. "Sit. You not call cab. Not go anywhere. Cub, no leaving." She shakes her head once. "I howl, now." Without another word, she hops down from the porch, her form sliding easily down into her four-legs form. The wolf watches Toby like a hawk for a second, before throwing her head to the skies and howling to let the Sept members know of this new arrival. Not far away, in the woods, Bag-of-Snakes hears the howl. She runs in wolf form to the edge of the trees nearest Edgewood, then, shifting, makes the rest of the way on foot, puffing with exertion as she appears around the side of the house. "What's the racket, mate?" she says in a strong Australian accent, glancing from the unfamiliar Toby to the almost as unfamiliar form of the wolf on the porch. The car disappears off down the road, moving at some speed. Toby stands very still, very very still. Toby slowly scrubs his hand on his jeans, leaving a smear of blood, he looks at where the woman was, not where the wolf now is, "I'm not feeling all that well miss, if I could just wash up and call a cab, that would be..." he trails off as his eyes slink down to the wolf form then go up to focus on the empty air where the woman once was. "...best I think." The moment she's done howling, Lonely-Road shifts back up into her human form, staring in complete, awkward silence as Toby. As Viv arrives, she turns that intimidating stance away from the boy, relaxing a bit as she inclines her head toward the guardian. "New cub. Fang. Just dropped off by Alec Goes Where No One Dares of Silent Striders." "Strewth. Alec who? Never heard of him," declares Viv, and glares at Toby as if her ignorance were his fault. "A cab? No way, Jose. Not if what I'm hearing is true. You're going nowhere." She seems to realise the harshness of her stance, and clears her throat, speaking again more quietly and reassuringly. "Uh, hi, mate. I'm called Viv. You want to come inside, get a drink, sit down? Your hands okay?" she adds, seeing the blood. Lonely-Road shrugs quietly. "No clue. Never heard of, either." She opens the door for the two as Viv mentions going indoors, falling silent. Apparently, she's quite happy to allow Viv to do the talking, never one for words herself. Toby shakes his head slowly, "I fell, on some glass, I think it might be...I think I have a fever, so if I could just wash up, and call a cab, I think I'll be fine to get to the hospital, you know, to get it cleaned up." He turns between the two woman, "If I could just...a phone?" he tries to interject not following the conversation. Viv shakes her head, apologetically. "No phone here. Listen, we need to know something. Who was that guy who dropped you off? Where did you meet him? And why'd he bring you to us?" She's trying to sound casual, but is plainly tense and alert beneath the veneer. Nikiya shakes her head, suddenly speaking in a very rough tone, that Russian accent adding to the harshness of her tone. "Nyet. No phone. Clean up, da, but no call. Anyone." Her posture straightens as she eyes the boy, sniffing at the air. Suddenly, the girl bares her teeth, her stance and even her grip on the stick turning to a much more aggressive one than before. "Smell like Wyrm." This is said to Viv. "Stink." Toby looks at Viv, "I fell down on some glass, it wasn't clean, he said you guys could help me get cleaned up before I went to the hospital, there were some drugs involved and I didn't want to go to the hospital dirty, I think I'm still a little messed up from the stuff and I'm seeing some funny stuff, I'm sure you're real nice folk but if I could just wash up and then...cab...? Toby backs up, "Yeah, worms, whatever...just look, I'll walk ok, just which way is town from here, I'm sure I can find someone with a cellphone or something." "Shit," Viv says under her breath, but loud enough for Toby to hear. Her brow furrows a second. "Funny stuff? What do you mean, you're seeing funny stuff?" she barks at Toby. Nikiya is suddenly holding her stick up, with the intent of blocking Toby from any sort of exit, her teeth still showing. "Answer." Toby continues working his way back towards the edge of the porch, "Like, just things, dogs and shit...look, I didn't ask to come here, that guy, Alec Goes-somewhere, or whatever, he just snagged me and said you guys would take care of me." He puts up his bloodied hands, palms out towards the two woman, "Really, I'll just walk, just pretend I never came here right?" Viv moves around behind Toby. "I'm sorry, mate, I can't do that," she says, sounding for a second like a twisted Aussie version of Hal from 2001. "We'll take care of you all right, if you're who we think you are, but we can't let you go wandering off. Sorry." She turns to Nikiya. "I'll take him inside, get him showered and patched up some... you wanna help me, or try to find Kaz or Zosia or someone? Looks like nobody else heard you howl but me." Nikiya suddenly is attempting to push Toby back with her walking stick, to a spot in front of the door. "NO. No leave. You stay. Right here." She's got a fire burning in her eyes that suggests it is a really bad idea to keep trying to leave. As Viv takes control, she relaxes, nodding to the Jarl. "Da, minya will find Kaz or Zosia." She offers a slightly scathing look to the Fury cub, before turning and shifting down into her wolf form once more. Toby tracks the change with his eyes before locking them back up again to the spot in the Air where Nikiya was before, "Look, really, I should go. I'm not sure how much of this is getting through to you, but I must be more messed up than I thought." He starts trying to move toward the exit despite the stick, "Look, really, I'm sorry, but I can't tell if you two just offered to shower with me or turned into a giant dog, so I'm just going to head for the road, if you think of a way to contact the authorities, that's probably not a bad thing at this point." Viv takes a deep breath. "Listen here, mate. She did indeed just turn into a giant dog. Well, actually it's a wolf. I don't know if this Alec geezer told you anything at all, but, well, yeah, no easy way to say it, she's a werewolf." Beat. "So am I." Beat. "And so are you." Nikiya turns, suddenly ofering a snarl and a snap at Toby's knees. She won't actually hurt him, of course, but she's doing a pretty good job of being a scary wolf right now. Viv-rhya, should show him crinos? Toby nods, "Yeah, wolves, dogs, whatever." The quick step backwards he takes as the wolf snaps at him comes down hard on the wrong foot, his eyes light up as the pain of glass digging deeper into his foot runs through him and he starts to topple backwards. He puts his hands out to catch himself but the blood slicked palms do little to stop his fall and he adds a good shot to the back of the head from the flooring of the porch to his list of troubles today. "Jeez," Viv curses, and drops to the floor next to Toby. "I don't care how Wyrmy he is, he's in a bad way. Help me get him inside," she commands Nikiya. To Toby himself she says, "Don't worry. We're gonna look after you, mate. Let's get you inside and laid out." Apparently, she's thought better of going to get Zosia or Kaz right now; quickly snapping back into her birth form, Nikiya kneels down, showing a bit more compassion than normal and making soothing noises to the boy, clucking at him in Russian as she attempts to help him to his feet. "Ya sazhalyeyu. Try to stop from leaving without hurt. Not so good. I help take care of glass wounds." Toby spends a few moments counting the stars, then blows out a long breath. "Alright, I won't try to leave. But I want to use your shower, and I can take care of myself." "Shower is good," agrees Viv. "But show me your hands first. I want to see if there's any actual glass still in them." Toby slowly holds up his hands, "Only a little, I'll get it out." Hefting him onto her shoulder, Nikiya half-assists, half-carries Toby into the bathroom. There, she steals his shoes away and insists on yanking the glass from the boy's foot; it's a painful process, but it's helped by a milky-white liquid that the Fury pours onto the cuts, which numbs the pain. Once that is done, the Fury lets the cub clean himself off, leaving a pile of clean clothing at the door and sitting right across the hall from said door as she waits. Viv meantime keeps vigil at the bottom of the stairs, pacing back and forth with no little impatience.